Boston Light Swim

"The oldest continuously contested open water swim in the country." Looks interesting. Only 19 registrants this year, its hundredth anniversary. Has anyone done it? I'd be interested in hearing impressions of swimmers and learning some of the history. www.bostonlightswim.org Thanks. I did it in 2004. It's a great swim, but... it can be cold (sub-60 not uncommon), no wetsuits allowed. Also, it can be rough - at one point I was watching the bow of my boat looking like it was going to go under and stay there. It can be very difficult to get a boat as well, and not cheap if you can. That said, it was a lot of fun. In general you have the current with you most of the way, except for about a 2 mile stretch after you go under the only bridge and in that stretch you get pushed sideways like crazy. The course is also quite picturesque, believe it or not. Highly recommended as long as you are willing to deal with the more challenging aspects. If you want to know more about the race, contact the race director. He's very nice and has a number of newspaper clippings from years past that give race accounts. -LBJ

"The oldest continuously contested open water swim in the country." Looks interesting. Only 19 registrants this year, its hundredth anniversary. Has anyone done it? I'd be interested in hearing impressions of swimmers and learning some of the history. www.bostonlightswim.org Thanks. I did it in 2004. It's a great swim, but... it can be cold (sub-60 not uncommon), no wetsuits allowed. Also, it can be rough - at one point I was watching the bow of my boat looking like it was going to go under and stay there. It can be very difficult to get a boat as well, and not cheap if you can. That said, it was a lot of fun. In general you have the current with you most of the way, except for about a 2 mile stretch after you go under the only bridge and in that stretch you get pushed sideways like crazy. The course is also quite picturesque, believe it or not. Highly recommended as long as you are willing to deal with the more challenging aspects. If you want to know more about the race, contact the race director. He's very nice and has a number of newspaper clippings from years past that give race accounts. -LBJ